The panel includes Keith Olbermann, David Gregory, Chris Matthews, Joe Scarborough. Also Steve Capus, president of NBC's news division, who begins with another eulogy to their fallen coleague: "Tim Russert had, believe or not, really been looking forward to this session. He had a real boyish enthusiasm for this election. . . "

He keeps going. The woman sitting next to me sighs, deeply, then apologizes for having done so. I nod, I get it. Capus, meanwhile is talking about "the tremendous outpouring of love and support," that emerged after Russert's passing, often from "people who say it's like losing a family member."

Then the quick pivot to political coverage in general.

What about the Fox News team's beefs about the liberal bent of MSNBC, and how it bleeds into the joint MSNBC/NBC political coverage? Steve Capus: "We feel great about the position that MSNBC has. we think we're probably onto something that our other competitors are taking notice. . . with our success come with those kind of comments. They speak for themselves, I don't need to dignify it. . ."

Political director Chuck Todd notes that the Obama campaign is backing away from doing town halls. Due largely, he says, to the Democratic candidate's unexpected leap in the polls. But there have also been a ton of events thus far, and the pace will pick up again in the fall.

But how can Olbermann pose as an objective anchor on campaign coverage?

Capus: "The audience gets it. that's the single biggest factor I see. The audience understands the roles that these guys have played, and I think they play it right down the middle on election night. Their job is different that night . . .We're gonna stick with them, they've done best, and the audience understands what they're doing."

Olbermann: "Not to start an argument with anyone at Fox. . .but Mr. (Chris) Wallace is a little under-informed on this. On their primary nights, H and C, O'R, Ingraham filling in for O'R one night, are filling in for hours and hours. So what his statement is based on is what their network is doing. . . We're asking (viewers) to separate what they see on our shows during the week. . . we know there are different rules.(but) if you're fairly good at what you do in this biz you're capable of doing more than one thing...."

Why so many apologies from news anchors this year? This is aimed specifically at Chris Matthews, whose foot has entered his mouth on more than one occasion during this cycle, particularly in re: Hillary Clinton, whose candidacy he once said was predicated almost entirely on her being seen as the victim of BIll's philandering back in the '90s.

Matthews: "I think a lot of things you say you can defend intellectually. I can defend analytically the things I say on the air, pretty effectively. . . But sometimes when you say something it strikes people beyond the facts. Hits them as an attitude for something. . .

Back to Olbermann. Is Fox missing an opportunity by not having O'Reilly anchoring their election coverage?:

Olbermann: "As Chuck Todd just reminded me, it'd make it more interesting if Bill was on and did it live. Let's just leave it there."

How does Olbermann get away with calling President Bush a fascist and a liar? And how does his combination of opinion and news fit into legendary CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow's medium?

Capus: "First off, you mentioned Murrow. . . Murrow was at CBS doing opinion-based journalism. He was also one of the best journalists of his time. I don't think anyone had any confusion about the roles Murrow played. . . . people understood the roles people were playing."

Have they heard criticism from the Bush administration?

Capus, again: " Sure. . . . look, it's all part of the atmosphere, the politically-charged dialogue that's out there. I listen to the comments, I'm respectful of the administration, of course i hear what they have to say.

Matthews: "Scooter Libby called to complain once."

Olbermann: "Oh, God."

David Gregory: "We're trying to do something that is unique in the market. . . we've got different voices, unique personalities, unique takes on the news, and putting it all under this one brand of MSNBC and NBC news. No internal angst about the things we're doing. . . we are the place for politics. This is also the network that is commited to the idea of leadership in this country. Who are our leaders, and what are they doing?"